Thread: Opinions requested

  1. #1
    Registered User jeffcobb's Avatar
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    Opinions requested

    All opinions welcome...I would like to get a cross-section of peoples opinions on Eclipse CDT....how does it measure up as a C++ IDE? For me, it has always had a particularly "java" feel but I would like to hear what others think. Not just if you like it or not but *why*....

    For me, if an IDE is done really really well, it can be a boon to the programmer....in recent years I have been finding a GOOD editor and knowledge of your command line tools to be about the best but I know it is not the best for everyone...I could probably be seduced into using an IDE again but it would have to be a good one..

    Many thanks in advance....

    Peace
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  2. #2
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Eclipse? I hate it.
    It doesn't support usual shortcuts such as Shift+delete and its debugger seems like poo sometimes. Breakpoints are hard to spot, and, I don't know if this just applies to java or not, but it hates to actually break on exceptions unless you specifically tells it to, and much more. Might be related to Java, though.

    Regardless, the one and only true IDE that I like and have always liked is Visual Studio. It's the most perfect one I've seen and used in my life. Even though it's sluggish and all that, it always feels like it's a step up over all other IDEs, having features that are absolutely necessary, that no other IDE has.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

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    Registered User jeffcobb's Avatar
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    @Elysia: Even though we do not agree on the preferred IDE (I would rather have my eyeballs put out with a flaming poker than use VS but that is just me) I do agree 100% on the Eclipse IDE. The reason that I occasionally try to give it a go is that I code in a number of different languages on a number of different platforms so the only way an IDE is going to be acceptable to me is if it *smoothly* supports all of my languages on all of my platforms, some of which are just prototypes on silicon. Bad as Eclipse is, it has come the closest...not close enough by any stretch of the imagination but closest. The above requirements are the core reason why a good programmers editor and good knowledge of your toolchain are my preferred environment. I do wish there was an IDE that worked well in all of these scenarios but I have not seen one yet. This thread was a test to see if there was something new in Eclipse that I have missed but at least so far, the answer is "no". Java coders love it I know but for C/C++/Python, well.....
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    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Yeah. But perhaps someone else has other opinions they can share.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

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    I agree with Elysia. I have used several IDEs, but they didn't have some useful features or didn't feel natural to use. Visual Studio has all I need (or what I have needed so far) in good package.

    I think Windows beats other systems in one thing - development tools. On UNIX and UNIX-like systems I prefer [kz]sh, vi and system's debugger, or if I for some reason need something IDEish or there is some problem with vi, then it's XEmacs.

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    Registered User jeffcobb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fronty View Post
    I agree with Elysia. I have used several IDEs, but they didn't have some useful features or didn't feel natural to use. Visual Studio has all I need (or what I have needed so far) in good package.

    I think Windows beats other systems in one thing - development tools. On UNIX and UNIX-like systems I prefer [kz]sh, vi and system's debugger, or if I for some reason need something IDEish or there is some problem with vi, then it's XEmacs.
    @Fonty: Just FWIW but I have noted my Windows programming friends feel more at home in Linux when using Visual Slick Edit for Linux. It provides a VS-like experience (at least up to VS Enterprise 6.0) in what they view as a "hostile" environment. I like Emacs (or XEmacs when the original is not available) because it acts pretty much the same on all platforms and I only have to learn one tool. And I know it is just an opinion but I feel the same way about platforms, only with UNIX, that it provides the better dev tools...I am NOT saying this is true of everybody, just that for the kinds of projects I work on the tools are better for *me*. I suppose if I ever get into a situation where 90% of my work is on Windows I might feel differently.....this is not meant to start a flame-war as apparently it did elsewhere where (completely unintended).

    At the end of the day we are all products of the paths we have walked in life.

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  7. #7
    Registered User jeffcobb's Avatar
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    Note: I do find it interesting that as diametrically opposed as we are on what we think is best for getting our day-to-day work done, there seems to be a pretty strong argument for what we agree is *worst* <snicker>. I am sure the Eclipse folks meant well.... ^__^
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  8. #8
    Just a pushpin. bernt's Avatar
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    I have been using Debian for nearly a year now and have gone through nearly every IDE available... except Eclipse. I could never manage to get it to work - something with the Eclipse JVM or something.

    Anyway, by far the best I found was Code::Blocks. For Windows users, it gives a very similar experience to Visual C++ (and can even import Solution files). For Linux users (and hackers), it's also incredibly easy to use your own custom makefiles and build commands. And there are tons of plugins, which are the real meat and potatoes of the IDE.

    That's my two cents.

  9. #9
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    My favourite IDE is KDevelop. I use it for my larger projects because of a few features: it's really easy to switch between files with CTRL-/, look up functions with CTRL-ALT-M, and look up classes with CTRL-ALT-C (can't remember if I set up those shortcuts or not, though :P). It has auto-complete and that sort of thing as well.

    I tend not to use many features of IDEs -- for example, I compile my code in a separate terminal and use the command-line gdb debugger -- but I still really like KDevelop.

    Of Eclipse I can't say much. I don't really use it. I did get it working on my Debian system, can't remember how. I imagine I just hit "+" in aptitude. I do have both the Sun Java and gcj installed for Java runtimes (I think gcj is my default). I just don't really like Eclipse that much. It always seems like when I start using it I'll get a bunch of wizards popping up whenever I just want to create a new source file . . . and it's quite slow on my system as well. On the other hand, I think I'd probably enjoy it if I was using Java, because it has some really nice Java features (like refactoring and renaming of source files and so on).
    dwk

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